Online Game Guides Publisher KillerGuides Introduces Social DRM for Ebooks

KillerGuides does away with digital anti-piracy measures by switching to a social DRM system.

Unofficial World of Warcraft Gold Guide by KillerGuides

"When you see Apple's iTunes and Amazon offering downloads without DRM, that's a clear sign that consumers want to own, not borrow, downloaded content."

San Jose, CA (PRWEB) September 14, 2010

Video game strategy guide publisher KillerGuides has announced using a social digital rights management (DRM) solution as alternative to digital copy protection measures. Game guide downloads from their website now have personal details of customers added on the fly, but come without any further digital restrictions.

Social DRM makes it much less likely that purchased files get shared with others, while not imposing impractical burdens on actual customers. For the company this means it can protect its digital asset without lowering the end value for its customers. Even though digital publishers are often confronted with content becoming available on torrent sites, KillerGuides follows the belief that this does not justify making a product less useful to those who paid for it in the first place.

"When you see Apple's iTunes and Amazon offering downloads without DRM, that's a clear sign that consumers want to own, not borrow, downloaded content", explains Lucio Pereira, the company's product manager, "if you're still using digital copy protection measures as a publisher, you are doing nothing but punishing your actual customers for saving you production and distribution costs."

Another advantage the company's newly developed, on-the-fly ebook generator is that it permits a large range of formats for the consistently updated publications - a must for MMORPG (massive multiplayer online roleplaying game) guides. This is a major boon for users who prefer to access the content on other devices than their computer – be it on their iPhone, Blackberry or Android phone. It also allows the company to make their content available directly inside selected games, meaning that customers can access game advice at the press of a button.

KillerGuides provides guides for more than 20 titles, ranging from the original Everquest and Vanguard: Saga of Heroes to Aion and Final Fantasy XIV. The company has released more than 150 game references since its inception in 2006 and has gathered numerous positive reviews for its independent publications online and in print. KillerGuides currently offers class, pvp and leveling guides for online games in four different languages.